Savages
by CherryCrush23
Summary: We lived in our own little slice of paradise, just me and my two guys. And I'd like to tell you our story, but keep in my that just because I'm the one telling it, doesn't mean I'm alive at the end.
1. Paradise

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or Savages**

**Summary: When everything was going right, that's when it all started to go wrong. But Nathan Scott and Jake Jagelski would do anything to make things right again. Based off of the movie Savages.**

**Chapter 1: Paradise**

If anyone ever asked me, I would tell them I live in paradise. The sun seems to shine every day, we hardly ever get rain. But when we do, it too, is perfect. The sand under my feet on the beach feels so right. The crashing waves are some of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. Everyone seems so right here in this little slice of paradise.

When most people think of Orange County, I'm sure they think of the trivial reality shows that have been filmed here over the years or of plastic looking girls and surfer guys with beach bodies. I guess you can find them here, but they don't register on my radar. The only two people I care about are my two best friends; Nathan Scott and Jake Jagelski.

I've known them both my whole life. We all grew up together in Tree Hill, North Carolina. Tree Hill is a small town, a place where everyone recognizes you, knows everything about you and your family, and knows all your business. Tree Hill will always have a place in my heart, but I needed to get out. Luckily, Jake and Nathan felt the same way.

I don't know what I would do if they hadn't come here with me. I probably would have stayed the same, shy girl who grew up in North Carolina. But them being with me, it made me brave. I guess you could say things changed when we moved out here after high school ended. If you said that, you'd be absolutely correct.

Let me tell you a little about us before I really begin our story.

I'm the youngest in my family; I have three older sisters and three older brothers. They're all spread around the country now with their families, but growing up, we were all pretty close. In high school I was a tutor, I worked at the café in town and I was a varsity cheerleader with some of my closest friends. I guess I was a typical teenager. Nothing about me really made me stand out. My favorite thing to do was cheer on Nathan and Jake as they played basketball for the Ravens.

Jake played for fun, he was good at it, but he didn't let it over take his life. He was smart and everyone in town said he was going places. I'm sure this wasn't where they thought he was going.

Nathan, when he played ball, it was art. Every move he made on the court was amazing and he made it seem effortless. He broke so many school records our four years at Tree Hill High, I've lost count.

Together they helped the Ravens win state our senior year. I'll never forget that game. I don't know if I've ever seen the light in Nathan and Jake's eyes like I did the night they won state.

But they're so much more than the sport they used to play.

Jake comes from a very wealthy family and he travels to other countries to help with mission work. He's in Africa as we speak. The look on his face when he talks about some of the amazing people he's met and the great things he's done always brings a smile to my face. Jake is one of the most amazing people I've ever known. If anyone has a heart of gold, it's Jake. His parents sure did raise him right.

The other half of my life comes in Nathan. Nathan didn't exactly have the most normal family. His mother became pregnant with him her freshmen year of college, his father Dan Scott, had neglected to tell her about the other girl in Tree Hill he'd knocked up before he left for school. Nathan has a half-brother who's three months older than him. They've never really gotten along. Nathan has an incredible basketball pedigree and it shocked our small town when he turned down his scholarship to Duke to play basketball and instead enlisted as a Marine.

After moving to California with Jake and me, he went on two tours of duty before being discharged. I don't know if I can think of a time that I've ever been more terrified than when he was gone. If I didn't have Jake with me I don't know what I would have done.

But let me get back to our new lives here. When we moved here, we were naïve; we didn't know anything other than Tree Hill and our somewhat sheltered lives. It was a few months after living here that I first tried smoking weed. It's not like I'd never seen it before, or had never seen anyone smoke it before, but I would never have tried it. But I don't know what made me decide to do it one day while sitting on the beach with Nathan and Jake and some of the new people we'd met here.

Before I knew it though, I was hooked. There was something amazing about how you could lose yourself and suddenly just feel relaxed. And I wasn't the only one who liked it. Jake and Nathan liked it just as much. They liked it so much that two years later they started growing their own. Some people say it's the best in California, if not the country.

They started up their own business, with my help. If my parents knew anything about that, they'd kill me. My mother's a school teacher and my dad's a doctor and this is something they wouldn't approve of.

Let me put your minds at ease by saying, we're not a couple of pot heads who live by the beach. Jake and Nathan are business men more than anything and they specialize in getting cheap cannabis to people who need it, people who have been suffering through life threatening diseases and just need it to get through the pain. But there are also the pot heads who buy from them.

You can judge all you want, but it's how we make a living here now. It's not like my salary as a waitress at a restaurant would really help us live here. We do what we can to make it here, and it works for us.

I walked back up the beach towards the stairs that lead to the street above. Checking both sides of traffic I dashed across the road back towards the house. We lived in a three story white house with large windows and excellent view of the beach. It was a perfect home for the three of us. I wanted to stay there forever.

When I finally made it to the house I climbed up the steps that lead to the front door. I pulled the key out of my bag before entering the house. I could hear music playing from the computer upstairs, I'd forgotten to turn it off before going down to the beach. Looking at the clock I saw that it was almost four o'clock and Nathan wouldn't be back from the gym yet. He went every day at three and I could expect him back in about twenty minutes.

I dropped my bag by the couch and turned on the TV. ESPN was on; clearly Nathan had been watching the TV last. He'd also left a plate and a glass on the table. I shook my head before picking them up and bringing them to the kitchen. Sometimes I think he thought I was a maid.

I started the dishwasher before making my way up the stairs and down the hall towards the master bedroom, Nathan's room. He had picked the largest room in the house and Jake and I knew it was pointless to put up a fight. Nathan always got what he wanted.

I walked into the bathroom and towards the shower, he had the best one in the house, and turned it on. Soon steam began to fill the dark tiled cubicle. I pushed down my denim shorts and swim suit bottoms before peeling off my tank top and bikini top. I walked over to the shower and stepped in, immediately feeling the hot water run down my skin.

The smell of sunscreen filled my senses as the water washed it off my skin and down the drain. Tilting my head back I let the sand and sea water be washed from my hair. Soon I turned so I was facing the shower head and placed my hands on the cold tile. It felt like the whole day was being washed away and I'd never felt more relaxed.

Soon I felt a pair of hands encircle my waist and jumped slightly at the sudden contact. I relaxed just seconds later when I recognized the touch. "You're home early," I said with a smirk on my face. I felt him press his body up against mine and I couldn't help the involuntary moan that slipped from my mouth.

"Good thing," he replied, "I wouldn't want to miss this."

I turned around and was met with cobalt blue eyes and a perfect smirk. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his body flush to mine before placing my lips on his in a perfect kiss. When our lips parted her kissed my cheek making his way towards my ear. "You're so sexy," he whispered in my ear before taking my earlobe gently between his teeth. I felt a shudder run down my spine as he did this, he knew this was a weakness for me.

I forced my eyes open and brought my hands to his chest before pushing him away from me slightly. "You interrupted my shower, and I'm all gross."

He laughed a little before bending down to pick up my shampoo that I kept in here. He motioned for me to turn around again and when I did I soon felt him lathering my hair with the shampoo. It smelled like coconuts and lilacs and I felt like I was getting lost in the sensation of him massaging my scalp. Once he'd washed the shampoo and conditioner out of my hair he reached toward the faucet and turned off the water.

I turned to face him again and soon he swept me up in his arms. I wrapped my legs around his waist and wound my arms around his neck. He placed a kiss on my throat before carrying me out of the shower and toward the bed. He laid me down gently in the center of it before climbing on top of me. I watched as he reached into the top drawer of the dresser and pulled out a condom. Soon he'd slipped it on and he was back to me.

His hands went to my knees and he pushed my legs apart before settling between them. I tipped my head back and let out a quiet moan as he began to place kisses on my neck and down to my collar bone. His hand had made its way between my legs and his fingers began to run over my wet center. I groaned as I felt him slip two fingers inside me.

When I looked up at him I could see that his eyes had grown a few shades darker and the look on his face told me he wanted to claim me. He pulled his hand away and grabbed me by my hips before flipping us over so he was now lying on his back and I was straddling his waist. When I was in the right position I sank down onto him, taking him deep inside me. I moaned at the new sensation and gave my body a few seconds to adjust.

I could feel him rocking his hips up into mine and I soon began to meet his pace. Every time I was with him it felt like I couldn't get enough. I couldn't ever get close enough to him and I never wanted it to end. It felt too amazing.

He ran his hands all over my body, leaving a trail of goose bumps as they went. The feeling of him inside me was something I felt like I could never get enough of. I never felt as good as I did when I was with him. Biting my lip I tried to keep from screaming out.

"Be loud," he moaned and I could see he was struggling to keep his eyes open. "He's not here."

Once he said that I felt like I no longer had control over my body. I could feel every muscle get tighter as I continued to move on top of him. I couldn't stop the screams of his name from leaving my lips. I was taken by surprise when he suddenly flipped us back over so his body was once again on top of mine.

I pulled his body down so he rested all his weight against me. I loved it best when he was this close to me. I could feel the shudder run through his body as I ran my nails down his sweat covered back. Soon goose bumps covered his muscled back. I sat up slightly and ran my lips over his neck and up towards his ear before pulling his ear lobe between my teeth.

"I love you," I whispered into his ear.

As soon as the words left my mouth I heard him groan before he began to move harder and faster. I threw my head back with a loud moan. I couldn't take it anymore. Every fiber in my body felt like it was on fire and I could feel my body shaking. I screamed out his name as I felt my orgasm hit with full force. "Nathan!"

After a few more thrusts he groaned and collapsed on top of me. Both of our heavy breathing filled the room. He placed kisses on my shoulder and neck before pulling out of me. I forced my eyes open as I watched him walk back to the bathroom before returning a few seconds later. He crawled back onto the bed next to before grabbing me and pulling me back on top of him.

"I love you so much," he said as he pushed my hair behind my ears.

I couldn't ever seem to stop the smile that spread across my face when he said those words to me. Hearing it sent my heart racing.

I laid my head down on his chest and got lost in the sensation of his hands running across my back. I could stay like this forever if he'd let me.

"When are we gonna tell him?" he asked after a few more seconds of peaceful silence.

I sighed. This was one topic I'd hoped to avoid today.

I'd known since high school that Jake was in love with me. He'd never really tried to hide it. He was so protective of me and the way he looked at me… it was intense. And I wished that I could love him back, but my heart had always belonged to Nathan. And if Jake knew about us… I was afraid he'd leave us. I'm not sure me or Nathan could handle that.

And the truth was I did love Jake. He was the most amazing person ever and I loved being around him, I was always happy when he was there. But my love for him just wasn't the same as it was for Nathan. I loved Jake, but I was in love with Nathan.

"Do we have to?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, Baby, I think we do."

I nodded my head; I knew we had to tell him. It wasn't fair to keep this from him. I just didn't want to hurt him, and I knew this would.

"We can wait a little bit longer," Nathan said, "he's coming home today we don't have to bombard him with this."

"What time does he get home?" I asked before sitting up.

"Like an hour," Nathan said, "and I need to restock the fridge. Do you wanna clean up the house a bit while I go to the store?"

I nodded before standing up and walking back to the bathroom to grab my clothes. Before walking out I made my way towards Nathan's closet before grabbing a green plaid button up shirt. When I walked back to the bedroom I saw Nathan standing in a pair of boxers searching through his drawers for a pair of shorts.

"I'm borrowing this," I said before walking out of his room and down the hall towards my bedroom. I dressed in another pair of short denim shorts and a tight white tank top. I threw on Nathan's shirt and rolled the sleeves up to my elbows. My hair was already mostly dry so I left it down and wavy as I normally did.

I made my way downstairs and I saw Nathan sitting on the couch staring intently at his laptop. I could tell by the look on his face that he was watching something he didn't like. I walked up behind the couch and wrapped my arms around his shoulders before leaning down so I could see the screen.

I was met with the sight of blood and dead bodies and people being tortured by masked men. "Holy shit," I whispered, "what is this?"

"Some guys in the business got kidnapped in Mexico," he replied, "this video got sent to everyone involved in the weed business."

It made my heart start racing to think that Nathan and Jake could be hurt like the men in the video. If anything ever happened to them… I don't know what I would do. I'm not sure I could go on if they were ever hurt.

He shut the computer and stood up before walking over to where I was. "Don't you worry about this. This is just to scare people. They want everyone to know who's in charge and as long as we understand that nothing's gonna happen to us."

"Ok," I replied still not feeling completely at ease.

"I'll be back in like half an hour," he said before placing a kiss on my lips. "I love you."

"I love you too," I said before watching him walk towards the door. I walked out to the deck that faced our driveway and watched him climb into his Black Mercedes G Class before pulling out of the driveway. I shook my head trying to get the images out of my head before going back into the house to start cleaning. Right now all I wanted to think about was how Jake was going to be home soon and everything was ok.

* * *

I heard a door slam and I ran out the deck. I watched Jake pull his bags out of the back of a cab before looking up and smiling at me. I made my way down the stairs of the deck as fast as I could before running towards him. He dropped his bags on the ground as I reached him so he could catch me in his arms. He'd only been gone two weeks, but it felt like a lifetime.

"I missed you so much Jake," I said, still not letting go of my best friend.

"I missed you too, Gorgeous," he said before finally placing me on my feet. He smiled at me before leaning in and placing a kiss on my cheek. He picked up his bags before paying the driver. As the cab backed out of our driveway, Jake took me by the hand and walked with me up the steps and back into the house.

"The house looks clean," he said before dropping his bags by the couch. "You must have cleaned."

"Sure as hell wasn't Nathan," I said with a laugh before hopping up on the counter.

Jake smiled at me before taking a few steps closer to where I was. I was so happy to see him, I felt like I couldn't keep the smile off my face. But the look on his face was different, and it broke my heart. I could tell just by the way he smiled and the look in his eyes that he wanted to tell me how much he loved me.

He put his hand on the back of my neck and I could feel his fingers tangle into my hair. He rested his forehead against mine. "I missed you so much Haley. I thought about you every day."

"I missed you too," I replied, "I'm so glad you're home. It's just not the same without you."

He smiled and I watched as he began to lean in towards me and I hoped he wasn't about to kiss me. I didn't want to have to move away from him. He was about to lean in more when the sound of the door stopped him. Nathan walked in with groceries in his hands and I'm sure he caught us in this uncomfortable position.

"Hey man!" Jake said excited when he saw Nathan.

Nathan smiled before bringing the bags into the kitchen. He placed them on the counter next to me before taking a few steps towards Jake. He threw his arms around him and welcomed him back.

They were like brothers. They had been best friends since the day the met and they'd gone through everything together. I felt like I came in and messed everything up. I knew that Nathan hated keeping things from Jake and he was only doing it because of me. But I just couldn't stand to do anything that might push them apart. But it seemed like it was too late for that.

Jake smiled at both of us. "I'm glad I'm home."

He winked at me before turning towards the couch and grabbing his bags. He made his way upstairs and when I knew he was out of ear shot I walked over to Nathan. "Nothing happened," I said, "what you saw-"

"I know Hales," Nathan said, "besides it's not like I can blame him."

He turned so he was facing me and grabbed me by the hips before pushing me back against the counter. "You're gorgeous, I'd want to kiss you all the time too."

Soon his lips were on mine and I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled my body closer to his. I never wanted to stop kissing him. I felt his hands slip under the green shirt I wore and go to my back. His fingers ran along the stretch of exposed skin between my tank top and shorts. But he pulled away quickly when the sounds of Jake's footsteps could be heard coming back down the stairs.

Nathan began to unload the grocery bags while Jake went to start his laundry. On the outside, everything was back to normal. But none of us had any idea just how much our perfect little lives would change.

**So I really liked this story cuz it's something so different from what I normally would do and I hope you like this. This first chapter is super short cuz I just wanna see what everyone thinks. Also, since Haley's the one telling the story she'll tell the parts even that she's not in, so I hope that doesn't confuse anyone! Let me know what you think!**


	2. Hamlet and Ophelia

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or Savages**

**Thanks for the reviews! **

**Chapter 2: Hamlet and Ophelia**

I watched Jake take a seat next to Nathan on the back deck after dinner. We'd spent the meal talking about Jake's trips and all the people he'd met. It was nice to hear about the way he'd helped people there. I was amazed at Jake and the fact that he was so selfless. I was absolutely positive that he would do anything to help anyone. He was the type of guy to give away his last nickel to someone who needed it.

He really was the perfect man, it seemed like he had it all together. And that's what made it so hard for me to realize I didn't, and I never would be in love with him. Sometimes I thought about what it would be like to be with Jake. I was sure there wouldn't be anything that we would argue about; we could live a perfect little life together. He was the type of guy I'm sure my parents would love me to be with. But it would just never happen.

Nathan and I argued… a lot. We argued about the most ridiculous things. But when we make up, it always makes me realize how much I love him. Everything with him is so passionate. He brings out a side in me I never knew existed. There was a bravery I found in myself because of him and I wasn't sure I would have ever known it was there without him.

I finished cleaning up the kitchen from dinner before walking towards the back deck. They sat in front of the unlit fire pit and faced the water just miles away. I stopped by the door and listened to them talk.

"When did you get that video?" Jake asked, not looking at Nathan.

"Right before you got home. They don't fuck around. Anyone who's not with them is against them and they don't take rejection too well."

"Apparently not. That makes me a little nervous for our meeting with them that's coming up."

My heart began to pound in my chest. I didn't know the Baja Cartel was trying to set up a meeting with Jake and Nathan. I'd only heard bits and pieces of information about them, but what I saw on that video made me fear them.

Whoever was in charge didn't show their face. They let the dirty work be done by their men. Everyone assumed it was a man in charge. In history tyrants and leaders have been known to be men, but this person, was a woman.

Victoria Davis now lead the Baja Cartel from a mansion in Tijuana. Her right hand man was a 29 year man named Ian Banks. Before then I'd only heard rumors about him. I heard that he'd murdered a father of three in front of his children because he didn't pay the Cartel what he'd owed. Any sort of man like that must have been crazy.

I walked through the door and out to the deck. "You're meeting with them?" I asked before sitting on the edge of the fire pit. I was sure they could see the apprehension in my eyes because I could see the guilt in theirs. "Were you gonna tell me?"

"Hales it's not something you should worry about," Nathan replied, "they're gonna probably want us to give part of what we grow to them but they aren't gonna get it. We have to be strong about-"

"You said they don't take rejection well," I interrupted, "and you're gonna turn them down. How is that smart idea."

"We don't know that we're gonna turn them down," Jake said before sitting forward in his chair and placing a hand on my knee. I was sure the action was meant to comfort me. "We haven't decided yet."

"Yes we have," Nathan said with a bit of harsh tone. "We're not getting into business with them. That's gonna make us think they own us. We do what we want, not what some cartel isn't telling us what to do." Nathan turned slightly in his chair and faced Jake. "You need to learn to be stronger, you let everyone walk all over you."

"Nathan," I said, "stop."

Nathan let out a frustrated sigh. "They don't own us. And they never will."

"But maybe you can come to some sort of agreement with them," I said trying to make him reconsider. "I don't want you to become those men on the video. I can't see you like that. I won't."

"That's not gonna happen," Nathan said with conviction in his voice. "I won't let that happen."

I stood up and walked back inside before making my way up the stairs to my room. I couldn't stop thinking about the video I'd seen earlier in the day. If they didn't play it right, they could end up like those people.

I laid down on my bed and let my mind race. I wasn't sure when my life had turned into this. My life in high school had been just as normal as any other girl. I had my friends and my family and I studied hard and went to class. But now my life was… so complicated.

I turned and stared at a picture of my family on my dresser. I felt a slight smile as I looked at the happy faces of my family. My family had never been exactly normal. My dad worked all the time and it felt like the older I got, the less I saw him. My brothers and sisters and I grew up close to each other and at times I felt like I knew too much about them. Maybe it was good to know everything about them, but I was sure I didn't want them knowing everything about my life. My mother is an English teacher and her obsession with Shakespeare has inspired her to give us all middle names after his famous characters. Matthew Laertes, Vivian Gertrude, Christopher Lennox, Brian Ross, Taylor Rosaline, Quinn Juliet and me, Haley Ophelia.

Ophelia is the love of Prince Hamlet's life. I suppose she didn't exactly have the life she thought she would either. Having your boyfriend go crazy and try to murder his step-father probably wasn't the easiest thing to deal with. Not to mention he also saw ghosts. I guess I could sympathize with her. She didn't have it easy. I might have killed myself too, if I was her.

There was a knock on my door and a few seconds later Jake walked in. He sent me a crooked smile before walking over to my bed. He sat down on the edge and placed his hand on my ankle. "I don't want you to worry O," he said using my nickname he'd come up with because of my middle name. "I'm sure we can come up with something that'll keep them happy."

"And if you don't?" I asked before sitting up, "what then?"

"I don't know. I really don't. Nathan's better with negotiating than I am, he'll come up with something."

"I can't lose you two, Jake. You guys are my life and without you… I-"

"You won't," Jake said while grabbing my hands. "Nothing's gonna happen to us Haley. We're a lot stronger than you think we are."

"I know you're strong," I said while sitting up, "but these people are evil. It's not that I don't think you can protect yourself from them if you needed to, it's that I don't want you to have to."

"Everything's gonna be ok," he said before squeezing my hand in his. "I promise you. Everything's gonna stay the way it is. Just the three of us, happy here. No cartel is gonna ruin things for us."

I wanted to believe him. I wanted to push all the terrible thoughts from my mind. It would have been so much easier if I could have just felt at ease when he reassured me that everything would be ok. But I couldn't. Not after what I'd seen on that video. Not after I found out that my boys were going to meet with the very people responsible for the dead men on the video. How could I possibly be ok with that?

"Ok," I said, "I believe you."

* * *

When I walked down the stairs the next morning I saw Nathan standing at the counter in the kitchen with a gun in front of him. Today was the day of their meeting. I wanted to ask him why, if everything was going to be ok, did he need a gun? What was the point of the gun?

He turned when he heard me coming down the stairs and I could tell by the look on his face that he wished he'd hid the gun before I came down. Nathan liked to hide things from me when he thought that it would make me feel better. He'd rather make the situation just go away then tell me what was really going on. I guess that was his way of protecting me. Or at least of trying to protect me.

"This isn't for me," he said, motioning to the gun.

"Who's it for then?" I asked and took a few steps into the kitchen.

"Skills, Fergie and Junk."

Skills, Fergie and Junk had been in the war with Nathan. He'd met them on his first tour and he had stayed close with them after they were all discharged. They even worked part time for Jake and Nathan in the business. They mostly did security in the shop, but they could get in tell on where the best pot was growing. And they had all been trained at Sniper school and they were some of the best shots in the country. Nathan and Jake kept them close when they went into dangerous territory.

"They're coming with you?" I asked.

"They'll be outside the hotel a few miles away watching. Just in case."

"Do you think it'll come to that?" I asked. I could trust Nathan to be honest with me. While Jake liked to sugar coat things for my benefit, I could always count on Nathan to be brutally honest with me.

"It might," he said and took a few steps towards me before grabbing me gently by the arms. "They aren't gonna take too well to us saying no to them. Think of it this way… The BC is a huge department store. They want a Jake and Nathan aisle. We'll bring them more business and if we don't say yes… they don't get our customers."

"And if you do say yes, you lose your customers?" I asked.

"Yeah. They all start buying from the Cartel and stop buying directly from us because we sell the majority of what we make to them."

"How much do you get if you do join with them?"

"My guess is they'll suggest a 50/50 partnership. And later on they'll push us out altogether. After they find out where and how we grow, they don't need us anymore."

I sighed and then crossed my arms over my chest. I still hated the idea of them going to this meeting, but I couldn't deny the fact that having Skills, Fergie and Junk there made me feel a little bit better. I knew they would keep a close eye on them. And they really were they best shots in the country.

"You ready to go?" Jake asked while walking into the kitchen. He was dressed in a respectable button up shirt and black pants; he looked like he really was going to any ordinary business meeting. Nathan was dressed in a pair of jeans and plaid button up shirt with his sleeves rolled. It was the green shirt I'd stolen from his closet just the day before.

"Yeah," Nathan replied, before grabbing the gun off the counter and walking out toward the deck where he met up with Skills, who I hadn't even noticed arrived.

I turned and faced Jake again who smiled at me and I felt my nerves ease up just a little bit more. "Look Beautiful," he started, "you've got nothing to worry about. Go to the beach or shopping or something to take your mind off this. It's just a meeting. Besides that video… That's Mexico, we're in Laguna. The cops here ride bikes and wear shorts. It's not as scary here as it is there."

"Ok," I said with a nod of my head. I would do what he'd told me. I would try to keep from thinking about that video and this meeting, but it would be hard. "Just come back safe ok?"

"You know we will."

Jake took a step towards me and cupped my cheek in his palm before kissing me lightly on the lips. I pulled away from the kiss and smiled at him before wrapping my arms around his waist and hugging him tight to me. Something about the way he hugged me made me feel a little bit safer. Jake always had that effect on me.

He placed a kiss to my forehead before turning around and walking towards the door. As he walked out Nathan walked back in and over to where I was standing. He checked behind him to see that Jake was no longer standing there before turning around and planting a kiss on my lips. His kisses always took my breath away and caused a shiver to run up my spine.

His arms wrapped around me and I wound my arms around his neck. His lips continued to move softly over mine, his tongue running lightly over my tongue. When he pulled away he placed another quick kiss on my lips before looking at me. "I love you so much Haley."

"I love you too," I said, still staring into his eyes. "So much."

"We'll be back soon," he said before squeezing my hands. He kissed each one before turning his back to me and walking out the door. Every part of me was keeping myself from yelling at him not to go. But it was too late, he and Jake were already gone.

* * *

Their drive to the hotel was silent. Both Nathan and Jake were trapped in their thoughts about how this meeting could go. They could be understanding about them not wanting to join with them, or they could be pissed, which was the more likely scenario. But how pissed would they be? Enough to kill them on the spot? Or would they wait until later, when they thought they were safe?

They pulled up outside the large hotel that sat next to the beach. It was a large resort that was mostly filled with the touristy types of people and their families. Nathan parked the car and they both stepped out. I wondered if they were scared. Did they want to just leave the meeting and never come back? That's what I wanted them to do.

"Are you ready for this?" Jake asked while looking at Nathan.

Nathan nodded before locking the door to the car and they both walked towards the doors of the hotel. They walked past the desk heading straight for the elevators. Once inside they pressed the button for the 10th floor. They were going to a suite with a lovely view of the beach. In my mind, it seemed like it was too pretty a place for a meeting like this.

When the elevator stopped they both walked out and down the hall towards the room. Standing in front of it, they both knew this was it. This meeting could make or break them.

Knocking on the door, Nathan could feel his nerves running through his veins. He always tried to come off as the strong one, and maybe he was, but that didn't mean he still didn't get scared sometimes.

When the door opened they were met with a middle aged Mexican man in a suit. He smiled at the two of them like they were all old friends and motioned for them to step inside. When they did they saw two, large men, dressed also in expensive suits. They took a few steps towards Jake and Nathan and began to pat them down. They looked for any guns or weapons that they might have kept on them. When they cleared them, they motioned for them to take a seat on the couch.

The man who'd answered the door sat across from them on one of the chairs next to a young, blonde man. Ian Banks.

"Gentlemen," the man started, "I'm glad you agreed to meet with us."

"You say it like we really had a choice," Nathan replied and Jake elbowed him in the ribs.

"Excuse my friend," Jake said, "we're happy to be here and see what you have to say."

"Right," the man continued, "well our boss has been thinking about it for quite some time and we're very interested in going into business with you two. As you can imagine, going into business with us would be great for you two. We could get you places you'd never even imagine."

"What are you offering?" Nathan asked, "you still haven't really told us what you'd be wanting."

"We just want to go into business with you. We buy some product from you and we sell it to our customers. They tell their friends and everyone starts buying from you."

"Everyone already buys from us," Nathan replied, "I don't know if you've noticed, but we're pretty popular already. I don't really know that we need you to make us more popular."

"Of course not; but we can offer you more money than you'll ever get selling medicinal marijuana."

"With all due respect," Jake began, "we do pretty well on our own. The Medicinal Marijuana business is booming lately and it's helped bring in a large income for us and we like that we can help people who are really hurting. And it's not like they're the only people who buy from us. We make a pretty good living doing what we do."

"I'm sure you do, but we can make it better."

"What's the offer?" Nathan asked again.

"60/40," Ian said, finally speaking up.

"Not good enough," Nathan replied.

"Well," the other man began, "why don't you two take some time to think about it," he said motioning to the balcony behind him, "and tell us what you decide."

Nathan already knew what he wanted to tell those guys. He wanted to tell them to go fuck themselves but I was glad that he'd kept himself from saying such things at this point. Nathan could have a smart mouth sometimes and it had a tendency to get him in trouble every once in a while.

They stepped out on the balcony and Nathan turned to face Jake. "This is bullshit. Let's just tell them we're not interested so we can leave."

"You know it's not that easy. We have to at least consider it. Or make them think we are."

"There's no point. I'm not considering anything. We're keeping the business with us. Besides you said it yourself that you want out soon. I do too. I don't wanna be in the weed business forever Jake and if they own us, do you really think they're ever gonna let us out?"

"I know Nate. I want out soon too but we can just give them a flat out no. You know that."

"What I know is that you need to stop letting people make your decisions for you. You don't want to go into business with them, then don't. Go in there and tell them how you really feel. Tell them they can take the deal and shove it up their asses."

"Yeah right, like that's a smart idea. Come on Nathan… This is the BC we can't just disrespect them like that."

"I don't give a shit who they are. We're done here."

Nathan looked in the direction where he knew Skills was waiting and flashed him a signal to pack it up soon. They were done there. There was going to be no deal. Nathan had made up his mind and if Jake wasn't going to speak up for what they wanted, then he would.

He walked back inside the suite with Jake following slowly behind him. He was worried how they would take it. Like Nathan had said the night before, they didn't take rejection well.

Nathan sat back down on the couch and Jake quickly sat down next to him. The man in charge took his original seat next to Ian again and leaned forward. "What did you decide?"

"That this deal is bullshit," Nathan said suddenly. "We think you want us to go into business with you so you can learn all of our secrets. Find out where we grow, what we grow and how we make it as amazing as we do so you can take it all for yourselves. Sorry, but we have to turn down your offer."

Jake sighed and rested his head against the palms of his hands. This just wasn't the way it was supposed to go.

"And you," the man said, "what do you think?"

Jake looked up at him and sighed again. "Right now, we just aren't looking to go into business with anyone. We're trying to keep our company as small as we can and you guys are larger than what we'd be looking for. And we're not sure how much longer we're going to want to stay in the business. Maybe when we decide we're done we can come up with something. But right now, it's a no. It's nothing personal."

The man laughed a little before looking at Ian who was shaking his head. "I'm afraid my boss is going to take it very personally. I'm sorry that you're turning us down, but I'd suggest you reconsider it."

Jake and Nathan stood up and nodded before walking towards the door. The meeting was over and it was safe to say the cartel hadn't gotten what they wanted. They probably weren't too happy with them.

When they left the room Ian grabbed his phone out of his pocket and hit the send button. He heard the ring repeat for a few seconds before the phone picked up. "Hello Ian."

"Victoria," he said, "I trust you saw how our meeting went?"

There had been cameras set up in the room to broadcast the events of the meeting all the way to Tijuana where Victoria Davis had been sitting in her mansion, watching.

"I did," she replied, "not how I hoped it would go at all."

"No. But I think maybe we can find a way to get them to change their minds."

"I think so too. Why don't you keep an eye on them for tonight. Call me later."

She hung up after that and Ian put his phone back in his pocket. He would track down Nathan and Jake and he would find out what they loved the most. What would get them to reconsider the negotiation.

* * *

When I heard Nathan's car pull up into the driveway I hurried out to the deck and saw them coming towards the stairs. They didn't look hurt; they looked just as they had when they left early that morning. Maybe everything really was going to be ok after their meeting. Maybe I really had been over reacting.

"How did it go?" I asked.

"Not how they wanted," Jake answered, "but they know we're not interested. And now we wait to see what their next move is."

"You think they might do something?"

"There's always the possibility," Nathan replied, "but they know there's nothing they can do that's gonna make us decide to go into business with them. Maybe they'll just back off."

"Do you really think that?" I asked. Because I sure as hell didn't think they'd just back off.

"I guess we'll see," Nathan replied, "but I don't wanna think about that tonight. We were thinking tonight we could go to dinner. Any place you want."

I could tell that Nathan was just trying to get me to drop the subject, so I would, for now. But it wouldn't be the last time it was brought up. I knew that. There was no way this was just never going to be brought up again, even though I wished desperately that this could all just be over.

* * *

That night we walked into my favorite Italian restaurant. The outside deck had an amazing view of the ocean and we would be there for the sunset. For tonight I was just going to be with my guys. I would forget all my fears and just let myself be happy for tonight. Tonight I had nothing to fear.

We sat at the table and I scanned over the menu, even though I knew I would get what I always did. I sipped my glass of Sangria while Jake and Nathan talked to each other across the table. It was nice to see them laughing and joking with each other. It was nice to feel normal for once.

I jumped slightly when I suddenly felt Nathan's hand on mine under the table. I looked at him and he was still talking and laughing. I wished we didn't have to hide our hands under the table, but if Jake was there, we couldn't be out in the open about it. This made me think about when the time would come when we would tell him the truth.

The last thing either of us wanted was for him to feel like we hurt him. But this was beginning to feel like a lose, lose situation. If we told him the truth, it was going to hurt him; that was inevitable. We both knew how he felt about me; it wasn't hard to see it. And if we continued to keep it a secret, when he did find out, he would know that we'd been lying to him all this time. And what would happen then?

I was scared that Jake would leave us. He would be so hurt that being around us just wouldn't be a possibility. All I wanted was for it to just be the three of us. Us against the world, the way it had been for years. But if he knew about us, he could leave us. And that would mean both Nathan and I losing our best friend. I didn't want that.

But I couldn't stop things with Nathan. It would break my heart to stop being with him the way I was. To not be able to touch and kiss him when I was near him just wasn't an option. I couldn't give him up. So what was I supposed to do? I wasn't about to become some shared girlfriend and even if I did, I would always have a different love for Nathan.

"So we have a proposal," Jake said, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I turned to him and smiled, "and what might that be?"

"Well we were thinking maybe we could all use a change of scenery."

My eyebrows creased in confusion and I looked between the two of them. What did he mean a change of scenery?

"We thought maybe a year away would do us some good," Nathan said, "we can travel the world together, maybe gain some perspective."

"And where would we go?" I asked.

"We thought maybe we could start with Indonesia."

"Indonesia?"

"We know you love the beach and you would hate to leave it. So we thought we could start there. It's gorgeous and we think you'd love it there," Jake said with a smile.

"And when would we leave?"

"Tomorrow," Nathan replied.

I let go of his hand from under the table and crossed my arms over my chest. "This is about the BC isn't it? You're running from them."

"No," Nathan said, "we're not running. But they might need some time to cool down, to get over us rejecting them. If we leave for awhile, they'll find someone else that they want and they'll forget about us by the time we make it back."

"Are we in danger?" I asked, "please just tell me the truth."

"No," Jake replied, "we're not in any sort of danger. But it's better safe than sorry."

Maybe they were right. The BC probably just needed time to get over things. If Jake and Nathan were gone for awhile then they'd forget about them. Things would be fine. We just needed to get out of town for awhile.

"Ok," I said, "I wanna do it. Let's go for awhile."

We were all broken out of our happy thoughts of getting out of town for awhile by the sounds of crashing plates. I felt Nathan grab me by the hand again and drag me down to the ground as he pulled out a gun. I gasped when I saw it in his hand and instantly reached for it.

When he realized it was just breaking glass I felt him relax.

"Wow," Jake said, "you've got some pretty quick reflexes. And thanks for trying to protect me, by the way."

I moved back into my seat and laughed as Nathan hid his weapon. I was amazed that no one had noticed the little scene we'd caused, but I was glad for it too. The last thing we needed was more eyes on us.


	3. High Off Life

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or its characters**

**Thanks for the reviews! So I plan to follow close to the movie Savages, but I'll throw in some of my own stuff too. To clear up any confusion, Haley is with Nathan but they're keeping it a secret from Jake, who has feelings for Haley. **

**This story should be pretty short and I'm hoping that working on this will clear up my funk with other stories. I hope you guys are enjoying this so far.**

**Chapter 3: High Off Life**

Once we'd gotten back from dinner, it was pretty clear that Jake was more than wasted. I'd lost track of how many glasses of wine he'd had at dinner. He didn't tend to drink a lot, but when he did it was usually because he was nervous about something or because he felt like he had something to celebrate. In this case, I guess it could have been either one.

We didn't really talk about it, but we were all nervous about the BC, and that was warranted. I don't think any of us liked the idea of a drug cartel running our lives. But that was why we had to get out of Laguna. It was time for us to go for awhile, maybe we'd over stayed our welcome.

When we got home I went upstairs to my room and began to look around for things that I wanted to bring with me. Jake and Nathan had reassured me that I would have everything I needed, but I looked around for the stuff I wanted. It was so strange to me that by tomorrow, I wasn't going to live here anymore. We were starting off in Indonesia, and who knows where we would go next.

I had to call my brothers and sisters and my parents to tell them we were leaving. Of course I couldn't tell them why or where. I would tell them that we were starting off in London and we were going on a trip through Europe and I didn't know how long we'd be gone. I mean it wasn't really a lie. For all I knew we would end up in Europe at some point; and I had no idea when we'd come home.

I threw some things into bags that I knew I would want; clothes, books, things of that nature. After I had some things put together I changed my clothes and walked down the hall towards Nathan's room. His door was open and I saw him and Jake standing out on the patio that extended from Nathan's room. I watched them pass a joint back and forth between each other a few times before I walked over to join them.

I moved to stand between them and looked out at the view. I started to feel my heart break as I realized this was my last night in this house for awhile; a year at least. I wouldn't see this beach, I wouldn't hear the sounds of these waves and I wouldn't stand here with them, not for a year.

Everything had changed in the course of one day. What had my life come to? This was so not the life I thought I would have when I moved out here. I didn't think I would be in love with my best friend, selling and smoking weed and on the run from a drug cartel. Life really is crazy sometimes.

Jake handed me the joint that was in his hand and I took a few puffs from it before I handed it back to Nathan. We stood out there for what seemed like hours. We didn't talk, we didn't need to. There weren't any words that could be said. Things were changing and none of us could stop it.

I sat down on one of the plush chairs on the deck and rested my head back against the headrest. Soon I felt the weight shift as Nathan sat down on the arm rest and he wrapped his arms around my shoulders. Jake sat down on the other chair just a few feet away. We could all feel the effects of the drug, but it was perfect. Like I said, we all loved the feeling. And this relaxation was exactly what we needed now.

We sat there for another 20 minutes before Jake stood up. He placed a kiss on my forehead and clapped a hand on Nathan's shoulder before walking back into Nathan's room and then out the door towards his own. After another couple of minutes Nathan stood up and stuck his hand out towards me and I took it.

He lead me back inside to his bed and laid me down on it gently. He kneeled down on the bed in front of me and began to unbutton his shirt and when it was undone he pushed it off his arms. I sat up and reached for the buckle of his belt and once I got it undone I pushed his jeans down his thighs. I watched him reach into the top drawer of his dresser again before directing his attention back to me.

He grabbed me by the knees and pulled me closer to him. I felt his hands slide up my legs to my hips. His hands had traveled under the light, purple material of my dress to the lace material of my underwear and when he reached them he grabbed them in his hands before pulling them down my legs. I watched him toss them to the ground before he pushed down his boxers and ripped open the condom.

Seconds later he was inside of me. I bit my lip to cover the groan that threatened to escape my mouth. Jake was just down the hall and I had to be quiet this time. But it was so hard because Nathan always made me feel so good.

It was so different than it had been just the day before. He was going slow and staring at me like he was trying to memorize everything about me. Something about the look in his eyes made my heart race faster and faster than usual.

I felt his hands run up my arms and stop when he got to my neck. His hand tangled in my hair and he tilted my head to the side giving him greater access to my neck. When I felt him begin to kiss and lick my neck I couldn't stop the moans that fell from my lips. "Nathan," I moaned, "I love you."

I opened my eyes when I felt him stop and saw him staring down at me again. He continued to thrust into me hard and slow and it felt like I could die from the pleasure. "I love you," he groaned before placing a kiss on my lips. "I promise I'm always going to protect you."

My hands landed on his back and I gripped him hard as he continued to thrust into me. I bit the skin of his shoulder to keep the sounds of my moans muffled, but it was so hard not to yell his name when I felt my orgasm hit just a few seconds later. It felt like it was over to soon and I didn't want him to stop yet.

His hands went back under my dress to my hips and he grabbed ahold of them before pulling me up so I was now sitting on his lap. He helped me find a rhythm and I watched the look of pure pleasure take over his face. I leaned in closer to him and planted kisses up and down his neck whispering in his ear. "I'm yours. Forever."

I felt him thrust into me hard one more time before his release hit and he collapsed against me causing my back to hit the bed. As he laid on top of me I could feel his heavy breathing. "I love you," I said while stroking his hair, "and I always will."

* * *

Victoria Davis picked up her ringing cell phone. It really pissed her off that by the time her phone rang, it wasn't exactly who she'd been hoping for. While hearing from Ian was probably a good thing, she really wanted to hear from her daughter, Brooke. But she had been ignoring her calls.

"Ian, I'm glad you called."

"I did what you told me," Ian said, "I've been following them all night and I think I know what might persuade them to take our offer."

"And what might that be?"

"There's a girl-"

"Of course there is," Victoria said with a laugh. "Who is she?"

"Their girlfriend."

"Their? What do they share her?"

"It seems like it," Ian replied. He'd been watching us all night, from the restaurant back home and he was confused by our relationship. Maybe he was just as confused by us as I was.

"Well then, I think you found what they love the most."

* * *

Jake and Nathan had been working all day on getting the house packed up and getting together all the things we would need for our trip. I tried to help, but everything I did brought up memories and it was making me sad. I knew we had to go, and I was excited. But part of me didn't want to leave. It felt like leaving Tree Hill all over again. I'd already left one home, and here I was doing it again.

But it had to be done. We couldn't argue our way out of this one. We had to go, there was no other option. I'd called all my brothers and sisters and explained to them the fake reason for the trip. They wished me good luck and told me to keep in touch while I was gone. When I had talked to my mom I could hear that she was nervous for me. She didn't understand how I could pack up and leave again. And I couldn't explain why. My dad had wished me well and told me he loved me and that he would see me when I got home.

Thinking about saying goodbye to them almost made me begin to cry again. It was ridiculous really. I needed to be strong now. I felt like all I did was worry or cry lately and I was done with it. It was time for me to be strong.

When the doorbell rang I went to answer it but Jake grabbed me by the arm stopping me from going towards the door. He pulled a gun out of the back of his belt before slowly opening the door. He released a sigh then opened the door all the way to let Mouth McFadden into the house.

Mouth also worked for Jake and Nathan. He was their tech guy and their record keeper. He knew every place they were growing weed, every place they had grown it, who bought it and how much they bought and how often. He knew this business like the back of his hand.

I smiled at him. "Hi Mouth. Do you want something to drink or anything?"

"No I'm good, thanks."

Jake walked with him over to the couch and sat down next to him. Nathan walked up the back steps of the deck and in through the sliding glass doors. He'd been loading things into his car for the past hour but now that Mouth was here he'd decided to stop. He stood next to the couch while Mouth pulled out his lap top.

"So what did you guys need me to?" he asked then looked around and noticed the mostly bare interior of our house. "Are you guys moving?"

"We're gonna be traveling for awhile," Jake said, "there's been some developments with the BC and we're just waiting for things to die down. But that's part of why you're here. We need you to get rid of everything that has any trace of us on it. Get rid of all the records."

"All of them?" Mouth asked obviously shocked by the request.

"All of them," Nathan said. "It's really important that it looks like we've disappeared; like we never existed in the first place."

"You can never get these back," Mouth said looking at the records on the computer screen. "They'll be gone forever."

"That's what we want," Jake said, "and you need to make sure there's no trace back to you either."

"Are they gonna try something?" he asked.

"We don't know," Jake replied with a shake of his head. "We don't think so, but we don't wanna tempt fate. It's better if we're under the radar than out in the open. And we don't wanna risk anything happening to you either."

"Well thanks," Mouth replied. He looked back at the computer and sighed before opening the files and beginning to delete them. The only sound in the room for a few minutes was the sound of his fingers on the keys. I watched him delete the whole business from his computer. It was like he was deleting it from the world. And I guess that's what he was doing, in a sense.

When he finished he closed the computer and stood up. "It's all gone."

"Thanks Mouth," Nathan said, "you have no idea how much we appreciate everything you've done."

"No problem," he replied while walking towards the front door. "Just… keep in touch while you're gone?" he asked looking at all three of us. "I don't wanna lose you guys for good."

I took a step forward and wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug. "We'll keep in touch." I kissed him on the cheek and we all watched him walk out the front door. He was just another reminder of all the things were giving up now.

"I wish you didn't have to go," Jake said suddenly.

I turned and looked at him and saw him staring at me intently. "What do you mean?" I asked. It sounded to me like he didn't want me to go with them. "You don't want me with you?"

"That's not it," he said and moved towards me. He put both hands on the tops of my arms and looked me in the eyes. "I wish we hadn't gotten you into this. It's because of us that we have to leave and we're making you up root your life and leave everything you love behind. It's not fair to you."

"He's right," Nathan said, "but we would never leave you here. We would never go anywhere without you Haley. You're too big a part of my… of our lives. We couldn't go anywhere without you."

I knew those words were true. Nathan and Jake never lied to me and they were the two people whose word I believed, whole heartedly, one hundred percent of the time. They were the most important people in my life and it was just as true for me that I couldn't go anywhere without them. I needed them in my life. They were the only strength I had and even the thought of being without them weakened me. I never wanted to know what it would be like to be without them.

And then I thought of what Nathan had said to me the night before. He had made a promise to always protect me, and then I realized I would never feel abandoned by them. They were constant in my life and that feeling would never go away. They were it for me.

"I can't be without you two. Where ever you go I go."

* * *

It was late in the afternoon and our flight was at 8 o'clock. So far we'd been doing nothing but packing up the house. I was getting restless and I needed to get out. I'd gone down to the beach with Nathan a few hours before to say my goodbyes to it. It was harder than I thought it would be.

I'd spent hours a day there almost every day since we'd been here. The beach was a part of me, it always had been, even growing up in Tree Hill. I think the majority of my life was spent at the water. I had so many memories with my family on the beach at our beach house. Many high school parties had been thrown at the beach. Nathan and I's first kiss had been on the beach just miles from our house.

And the beach here had been my first friend in California. It may sound stupid, but it's true. It never judged and it was always there. I could sit in front of the water and talk to it for hours. I'm sure I looked crazy to some people, but I didn't care. To me it all made sense. The ocean knew all my secrets, the ones I never told anyone. It knew about my love for Nathan before he did.

But now sitting in the empty living room of our house, I just couldn't sit there anymore. I stood up and grabbed my bag. "I need to get out for awhile."

"We'll come with you," Jake said and stood up, too.

"No," I said, "you guys have stuff you need to do before we leave. I promise I'll be fine. I'm just gonna drive through town and maybe go to the mall; just one last time before we leave."

"Well you're not going by yourself," Nathan said, "absolutely not."

"Oh come on," I said, "I don't need a babysitter."

"Well just let Fergie come with you," Jake said and Fergie, who had been standing with Skills and Junk on the other side of the room nodded. "It would make me feel a lot better if I knew you weren't by yourself."

"Fine," I said.

"You won't even know I'm there," Fergie said with a smile.

I smiled back and nodded. I understood they were nervous about me going alone, but I needed sometime to myself to say my goodbyes to the town I'd called home for the past few years. But that clearly wasn't going to be an option. But if Fergie was going to be there, at least he was willing to be a ghost for me.

"Be back by 6," Nathan said, "we need to get to the airport by 7."

"Ok dad," I joked before walking over to him and placing a kiss on his cheek. I would have kissed him on the lips if Jake hadn't been in the room. He winked at me before I walked over to Jake and did the same to him. "I'll be back at 6."

I walked outside and over to my car and watched as Fergie jumped into the driver's side of his truck. He smiled at me one last time before I started my car and began my drive into town. I drove past little shops that lined the sidewalks in town. Restaurants I'd been to many times came into my line of sight and I smiled at the sight of them. I really was going to miss this town.

I looked in my rear view mirror and saw Fergie behind me. He seemed like he was mostly in his own world, just going through the motions of following me. I felt bad for him that his life had to be thrown off balance just because of us. I wondered what he might have been doing now if it weren't for me. I'm sure he had a life outside of this.

As I continued to drive down the road I was hit with a flood of memories. But it was actually nice. At least I got to say goodbye to the town on my own terms.

I was broken out of my thoughts when I heard the sound of sirens form behind me. Quickly, I glance up into the mirror and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized she wasn't the one being pulled over. However, I watched as Fergie pulled his truck over to the side of the road. I saw him wave me off and I knew he would find me at the mall once he was done there. I nodded in his direction before pulling my car through the intersection and towards the mall.

When I pulled into the parking garage my only concerns were making sure I hit all the stores I wanted before I had to go. Make sure I get home on time, I kept reminding myself. Nathan would be pissed if I was even a minute past 6.

I wish that I had been more observant to everyone around me. Maybe then I would have noticed the guy in the black truck who'd followed me from my car into the mall. I wish that I had known that Fergie wasn't ever going to show up to watch out for me. I wish that I had known that when he got pulled over he was actually met with a 9 millimeter hand gun and a bullet straight through his head. But I didn't know any of that.

Walking through the glass doors of the mall I looked around at the many people who were there, going about their lives, business as usual. I walked towards some of my favorite stores, window shopping mostly. I was in my own world. I was getting used to the fact that after tonight I wouldn't see this place for another year. Everything I looked at would be the last time. It was all starting to sink in now.

I stepped inside a Buckle store and began to look through shelves of jeans. I knew I wouldn't need them, but I couldn't help looking. I reached for a pair of dark washed jeans in my size at the same time as someone else in the store. I looked up at the girl and she smiled. "Go for it," she said motioning to the item of clothing we'd both been eyeing.

"Oh no," I said, "I'm not gonna buy them. Besides I'm sure they'd look better on you anyway."

This girl was beautiful. She had long dark hair and deep dark eyes and when she talked her voice sounded a bit raspy. She was dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a yellow halter top and you could tell she just exuded confidence.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Definitely. I'm going out of town tonight anyway and where I'm going doesn't exactly call for jeans."

"Where are you going?"

"Indonesia."

"Wow," she said, "that's amazing. I hope you have a great time."

"Thanks. I'm sure I will."

She smiled at me showing off the dimples in her cheeks before she was distracted by the sound of her phone ringing in her purse. She opened it up and pulled out her phone before answering it. "Hello mother," she said and I could tell by the tone of her voice that she wasn't exactly thrilled to be taking this call. "No I haven't been avoiding your calls…"

I turned around and walked towards the exit of the store. I wasn't sure I should be shopping anymore. I kept getting a strange feeling of being watched but I just kept telling myself it was Fergie. At the time I convinced myself that he really was good at making himself scarce because I hadn't seen him anywhere.

After deciding that I wasn't going to look in anymore stores I walked back towards the parking garage. I lowered my purse down my arm and opened it so I could search around for my keys. My hand fished around in the contents of my purse and I didn't notice the sounds of footsteps behind me. I didn't hear that they were getting closer. But before I knew it I felt a sharp, hard hit on the back of my head.

Then it was just darkness.


	4. Price

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or Savages**

**Sorry for the delay. I just moved and started classes and I'm trying to stay on top of my work but I have some time so I thought I'd update for you guys! Hope you enjoy.**

**Chapter 4: Price**

The minutes passed on slowly. 6:00.

6:02.

6:06.

6:17.

Nathan stared down at his phone for the hundredth time. It wasn't like me to be late, he knew that. One thing about me is that I'm on time everywhere I go, hell I'm usually early. So the fact that I was twenty minutes late getting home, that scared him.

He looked at Jake and could see him struggling to not check his phone like he had done. They had been sitting in silence waiting for the sound of my car in the driveway. Waiting to hear from Fergie. Waiting for anything. They just didn't know what they were waiting for, but it was coming for them.

Jake stood up quickly when he heard the familiar ding of an incoming video message on his laptop. He clicked it open and was almost sick to his stomach to see the images on the screen.

My arms were bound to the wooden arms of a chair. My lip was cut and starting to swell, bruises were beginning to take over the side of my face. I looked disheveled, obviously having gone through hell before getting to where I was then.

Nathan walked up next to him and saw me and felt the blood begin to boil in his veins. How had this happened? Where was I? What was it going to take to get me back? He would do anything.

"What the fuck is this?" Jake asked, not taking his eyes off the screen.

There was another ding indicating a new video message and he clicked on it immediately. Instead of the screen showing who was talking to him on the other end he was met with a black screen. But soon a voice spoke to them from the other end. It was clear that they were disguising their voice.

"I see you got my video," they said.

"Where is she?" Nathan demanded to know.

"Well I'm not just going to tell you that."

"Look," Jake said with a pleading tone in his voice. "We'll do whatever you want, just please don't hurt her."

"I don't want to hurt her. But I wouldn't have had to do this if you had just accepted the offer that we put on the table yesterday. But you made this hard on yourselves."

"She had nothing to do with that," Nathan said, "that was all on us."

There was a pause and silence filled the air and Nathan glanced back at the image of me in the video. "You Nathan Scott," the voice said, "are incredibly disrespectful. Mr. This-Deal-Is-Bullshit. Who do you think you are to disrespect me like that? I'm sure you had no idea I was listening, but I was and I wasn't happy with what I heard."

"I'm sorry," Nathan said but his tone was more pissed off than apologetic.

"I just don't believe you…"

"Please," Jake said, "we'll do whatever you want just let us have her back."

"Jake Jagelski, always trying to make deals. Well Mr. Nothing-Personal, you can't exactly negotiate your way out of this one. I'm afraid this is all up to me. Whether or not I have them kill your girlfriend now, right in front of you, or if I tell them to keep her alive."

"Don't fucking touch her!" Nathan yelled. He could feel his finger nails breaking the skin of his palm from the force of his hands in fists. Who did they think they were to hurt her?

There was another pause before an audible sigh on the other end. "Do you have a gun on you Mr. Scott?"

Nathan reached around the back of his jeans where he was keeping a 9 millimeter in his waistband. He pulled it out and showed it to the camera. "What about it?"

"Put it in your mouth."

Jake turned and looked and Nathan quickly and shook his head. "Don't."

"Do it or they'll slit her throat."

Nathan's eyes shot back to the screen where another masked man had made his way into the shot. He was now standing behind me and had a firm grip on my hair pulling my head back. A blade was now placed under my chin.

Nathan brought the gun up and opened his mouth before putting the barrel inside. He was going to do whatever this voice told him if it meant keeping me alive.

"Now turn the safety off and put your finger on the trigger."

"Nathan don't!" Jake yelled.

Nathan hesitated before pulling the safety down on the back of the gun. But when it came time to putting his finger on the trigger, his hands began to shake. "Do it," the voice said calmly. When Nathan's finger didn't immediately land on the trigger they spoke up again but this time giving orders the men in the video. "Remove a finger."

Nathan watched as one of the men grabbed my hand and brought a pair of shears up to my finger. I began to scream and try and get my hand out of his grasp, but it only made him grip me tighter.

"No don't!" Nathan yelled quickly before putting his finger on the trigger of the gun. He would even pull it if it meant that I could be spared.

"Don't touch her," the voice said and they watched as the men moved away from me leaving me as unharmed as I had been when the video had first come up. "Maybe you listen to me a little sooner next time. Take the gun out of your mouth."

He did as they said and put the gun down on the table waiting for the next instructions. "We'll call you later with more instructions."

The video feed of me shut off and soon the voice was gone. Both Nathan and Jake's breathing was heavy and they could feel anger rushing through their bodies. How had this happened? Where was I and what would they do to me? But, also, what would they have to do to get me back? They knew it wouldn't be easy.

"Do we go to the police?" Jake asked.

"They've been trying to bring down the BC for years and they haven't been able to do a damn thing about them. How are they gonna help us now?"

"Well maybe not the police, but maybe we should call Reese."

* * *

My eyes slowly started to open and I suddenly felt a stinging sensation in my head. Images flashed back to me and I remembered walking through the parking garage trying to get to my car. I remembered blacking out after feeling a blow to the back of my head. When I woke up I was in the back of a truck with my legs bound together at the ankles and my hands together at the wrists. I remembered being beaten when I'd tried to get away. I remembered being tied to a chair and a voice giving the men instructions on what to do to me. Why was I here?

The room I was in now was poorly lit and had dark walls. It smelled dirty and musky and there was a small TV on in the corner of the room. I could hear other voices talking in the room but I didn't want to move to alert them to the fact that I was awake. I was lying on a dirty mattress and I could feel that my arms were still tied together but behind my back now. My heart was already pounding my chest because now I realized none of his had had been a dream, it was all real.

I looked up when someone came to stand in front of me. He was dressed in a pair of black dress pants and a wrinkled white shirt. His blonde hair was starting to fall in front of his eyes. He had a cigarette between his lips and he kneeled down in front of me. "Look who's awake." He brought his hand up to my face to push away my hair but I flinched away from his touch.

He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me into an upright position. "You're a pretty one aren't you," he said while stroking my cheek. I was disgusted by his touch and I tried to move away from him. He grabbed me the arm again and pulled me closer to him. "You shouldn't be so rude."

"Leave her alone Ian."

I looked quickly towards where the voice had come from. There was a girl sitting on a dirty couch in front of the TV. She wore a black tank top and a pair of skinny jeans. Her blonde hair was curly and pulled back into a pony tail. She had tattoos up her entire right arm and a ring in her nose. She also had a heavily bruised left eye.

"Shut up!" Ian said angrily before standing up and walking over to where she was siting. He grabbed her by the chin and forced her to look up at him. "Did you hear anyone talking to you? Anyone asking your opinion?"

"No, I'm sorry," she replied with a shaky tone to her voice. He let go of her chin and stood up straight before looking back at me. "I'll be back later. Keep an eye on her," he said to the other girl before walking out a door that lead to another dim hallway.

We both watched him leave before the girl sighed and stood up. She grabbed a bottle of water from the table in front of her and walked towards me. I looked away from her as she neared me and she sat down next to me. "You don't need to be afraid of me."

I looked back at her and saw the sincerity in her green eyes. "Just do what they say and they won't hurt you."

She unscrewed the cap to the water bottle and brought it up to my mouth. I tilted my head back for her to help me drink. I felt so helpless. I couldn't do anything on my own here.

"My names Peyton, by the way," she said after I'd had some of the water.

"Haley."

"I'd say it's nice to meet you, but this isn't exactly the nicest of situations." Soon I felt her begin to undo the knots on my wrists and soon my arms were free.

"Why am I here?" I asked and then looked around. "Where am I?"

"We're right by the border. And you're here because your boyfriends pissed off the boss."

I already knew that this all had to do with the deal they turned down. It had to. There was nothing else that made sense.

I looked down at myself and realized that I was no longer wearing what I'd been wearing when I'd left earlier. I now wore a short ratty pair of gray shorts and long sleeve black shirt that hung off my shoulder. I also noticed that all my bracelets and rings were gone. My Michael Kors watch was missing, my gold knot ring and my diamond bracelet. But one thing that they hadn't taken away was the one thing I was happiest to see. I still had my plastic beaded cracker jack bracelet from Nathan. They hadn't realized that this was the most valuable thing I owned.

"What are they gonna do to me?"

"I don't know," Peyton replied, "I guess that depends on what your boyfriends are willing to do."

I didn't want Nathan and Jake brought into this, but I knew that was too late. They were key players in whatever this was. There was no way they couldn't be brought into this. I just didn't want anything bad to happen to them. I'd rather they kill me than Nathan and Jake get hurt. I couldn't take it if anything happened to them.

"I liked your tattoos by the way," Peyton said before standing up and walking back over to the couch.

I was confused. I didn't even know how she had seen them, but then again I was in a different pair of clothes than I had been when I left the house. They obviously had changed me.

"I was the one who changed your clothes," she said, "better me than someone else right?"

"Yeah," I replied. The thought of Ian taking my clothes off was enough to make me sick. "I like yours too."

She had a vine growing up her right arm that went all the way from her ring finger to her shoulder. Small purple flowers were growing on it and it lead to a large purple flower on her shoulder. It must have taken awhile to get it done. "Thanks," she said with a smile. "What's the one your ribs from?"

I had a black and blue butterfly on my shoulder and on my ribs I had the words, "Do not show me the steep and thorny way to heaven," in small black cursive.

"It's from Hamlet. It's a line that Ophelia says."

"Big Hamlet fan?" she asked and leaned back on the couch.

"I'm kind of named after Ophelia."

"Haley doesn't sound very much like Ophelia."

"Ophelia's my middle name," I replied before lying back down on the dirty couch. My body was exhausted and I felt like I couldn't keep my eyes open. I glanced back at the water bottle and suddenly began to wonder if there was something more than water in that water bottle.

"I'll have food for you when you wake up," Peyton replied and suddenly I was asleep again.

* * *

Reese Dixon has been trying to bring down the BC for years. Recently he approached Nathan and Jake about being his confidential informants. If they would keep him up to date on some of their customers and tell him anything they knew about the BC the police wouldn't bother them or the business. He also liked to buy from the occasionally.

I've always gotten a creepy feeling from Reese and he's a bit of a douche bag but he kept the police out of our business and now Jake and Nathan needed his help.

Nathan and Jake hadn't heard anything from anyone about me or any instructions on what to do to get me back and they'd stayed up all night waiting to hear. They had the computer open and their phones on them just waiting to hear. The wait was just enough to kill them. And for all they knew I could have already been dead.

They sat in Nathan's car watching the waves crash into the shore of the beach. The sun had just come up and they were now doing more waiting, but this time for Reese. They watched his black BMW pull up next to them. When he got out he pulled his sunglasses down over his eyes and walked over to their car.

He stopped next to the window and leaned against the car. "What can I do for you boys?"

"Get in," Nathan replied.

Reese shook his head before opening the back door and getting inside. He moved to the middle and looked at the both of them. "What was so important that you needed to get me up at the crack of dawn. And where's that pretty girl of yours?"

"They took her."

"Who did?" he asked.

"The BC," Jake replied, "they took her last night and we need help getting her back."

"And what do you want me to do? You haven't exactly told me enough for me to be able to track them down."

"You don't have anything on them?" Nathan asked. "Nothing that could help us find her? You haven't got any information about them on your own?"

"You know I can't tell you anything. It's police business and in case you forgot you guys aren't the police. You're nothing but a bunch of pot heads who got in too deep with the Cartel. I don't know what I can tell you that can help you."

Nathan reached around and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him forward in between the two front seats. "You listen to me. They have my girl and I'm gonna do whatever it takes to get her back and you had better help me. You're a fucking fool if you think they won't come after you. I'll make sure they do if you don't help us."

"Alright!" Reese said holding his hands up. "I'll help you! But you have to keep my name out of it. I'll lose my job if they know I'm helping you."

"Just tell us what you know," Jake said.

"There's a new boss in charge. Victoria Davis took over the BC and she's been living in Tijuana. But she has a daughter her in LA so she makes trips here occasionally. My guess is your girl is somewhere between here and there. And my bet is Ian Banks has got her."

"Who is he?" Nathan asked.

"He's her right hand man. He does all the dirty work. He's the one in charge of all the bodies you see in the videos they send out. I guarantee he's the one who has her."

"Where do we find him?"

"I don't know. I haven't found him yet."

"Well then that's not very helpful," Jake said before turning to look back out the window.

"I'm just telling you what I know!" Reese said. "I'll tell you anymore that I can find out. But that's all I've got for now."

"Then you can go."

Nathan let go of him and he quickly got out of the car and started back towards his car. "Reese," Nathan shouted out after him, "if there's anything you're not telling us we'll find out. Then the BC won't be your biggest problem, we will be."

Reese nodded his head before getting in the car and driving away fast. They sat there for a few more minutes in silence thinking back on what Reese had just told them. They needed to find Ian if they were going to find me. They couldn't just sit there and not do anything. They needed to find me.

Suddenly Jake's cell phone began to ring and he quickly picked it up. "Hello?"

"We need all of your product by tonight. All of it and if any of it's missing she pays for it. We'll send you the address."

The other line went dead and Jake dropped his phone. "They want it all. Everything in the stores, everything we're growing now. Everything and they want it tonight."

"Well then we'll get it for them. We don't have any other choice. Where do they want us to meet them?"

"They didn't say yet. They'll email the address later."

"We need to go get everything. We can't waste time. And call Mouth. He can help us get it all together."

They knew that they were handing over the business to the BC. The weed was the business and they were throwing all the work away. Handing it over to them and essentially doing exactly what they wanted them to do from the beginning. But now it all came with a price and the price was me.

**I'm sorry this chapter is so short but I wanted to give you guys something instead of nothing. I hope you like this and please let me know what you think. Again I'm sorry it's so short! **


	5. Waiting Game

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or Savages**

**Sorry for the wait I don't even have a good excuse. I really hope people are still reading my stories. I know I've said it before but I really am going to try to update more. **

**Chapter 5: Waiting Game**

I remember when I started working on the farms with Nathan and Jake. Business was taking off and they were selling more weed than anyone had anticipated. More farms had been opened up along the coast and that meant more employees. I was happy to be one of them. I worked inside the green houses, close to the boys. Jake taught me all about what grew the best bud and how just like any other flower it needed love to grow. Soon after that he started calling me his own special Lotus.

Business only grew and we were sitting pretty. Jake constantly told me that I would never want for anything for the rest of my life; he and Nathan would always take care of me. And there was never a day that I doubted that. It seemed like nothing could go wrong for us. Even meeting Reese helped us a lot. You would think the last thing a couple of weed growers would want would be to get tangled up with a federal agent, but he was a blessing in disguise.

Unfortunately Reese's mother was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and her time was running out. She had gone through many stages of chemo before deciding that she didn't want to waste the rest of her days in treatments. It wasn't long before then that Reese had first come into one of our shops. He told Jake the story about his mother and Jake cut him a special deal and he had been a loyal customer ever since. He knew his mother was still in pain and the weed helped her to feel less of it.

So many things had happened in the time that Nathan and Jake started the business and the scariest of course was the BC coming into town. All they wanted was to work with Nathan and Jake and the rejection they faced caused our lives to go to hell. Now as I sat here, wherever here was, I still couldn't believe what my life had come to.

I tried to pull my left leg up under my right, but soon I felt the resistance from the chain that had been bound around my ankle. I sighed and ran my hands through my hair trying to fight back frustrated tears. I'd been here for less than 24 hours and already I felt like I'd spent my whole life in this dark, disgusting room.

The walls were made out of rusted metal and there were two lights hanging from the ceiling. The room itself was small, maybe the size of Nathan's bathroom in our house. When I looked to the left I saw the dirty mattress on the ground that I had been sleeping on earlier. It was enclosed in floor to ceiling chain-linked fences creating yet another small prison. The couch I sat on now must have been white at one point, but now it was gray with brown stains. In front of me was a small wooden table and in front of that was a small TV with a fuzzy picture.

I turned my head to the left and saw Peyton sitting on the other end of the couch. She was the only thing that gave me hope here. The only person I'd come into contact with since being taken that had treated me with any kindness. I couldn't get the images of the way Ian had treated her out of my head. Why was she with a man like that?

"Can I please talk to someone in charge?" I asked a second later.

Peyton scoffed, "you want to see Ian?"

"No. Someone else. He's gotta be working for someone."

"Well yeah," Peyton said and then turned her body so she was facing me. I saw that she now had a split in her lip, a product of Ian I was sure. "But there's no way you'll get to talk to them."

Suddenly the door opened and Ian stepped inside. My heart raced at the sight of him and my skin began to crawl. He walked over to where Peyton sat and placed a kiss on the top of her head, an act so loving from such an evil man. He looked up at me and our eyes met for a split second before I looked away. I heard him step around the small table until he was in front of me.

I watched him place a red plastic bucket on the table in front of me. "For you," he said while motioning towards it.

I looked up at him, trying to gauge from his face whether or not he was serious. I reached towards the bucket and pulled it back into my lap. When I looked inside I was happy to see a fresh water bottle along with a hair brush and a tube of toothpaste.

"You should be good now, right?" he asked, not like he really cared what my answer was.

"No toothbrush?" I asked.

"You can use my finger," he laughed before brushing his hand over my cheek. I leaned back, away from his touch and he laughed again.

He took a few steps back and stared at me for a few seconds before taking the steps it took to get back towards the door.

"I wanna talk to whoever's in charge," I said before he could walk out.

"Oh do you?" he asked, after turning around again. He crossed his arms over his chest and more blonde hair fell in front of his eyes. "You need anything, you talk to me."

Just as quickly as he had shown up, he was gone again. I looked at Peyton again and she shrugged her shoulders at me. I knew she couldn't help me with anything, who even knew if she wanted to. I was completely alone.

* * *

"You have 5 hours to get it all to Chula Vista. Your time starts now."

Those were the words that had been spoken over the phone to Nathan when they finally got a call back. Earlier they had been instructed to get the entire weed supply, but they hadn't said when or where. Finally they had a destination and it felt like they were one step closer to getting me back.

Pulling up in front of the green house they hurried out of the van and towards the doors. Tony Battle was already standing at the door waiting for them. He opened the door and Jake rushed inside and back towards where all the plants had been grown. He now saw an empty room, all the weed had been packed and was ready for them to pick up.

"You wiped us out," Tony said, "why did you need all this anyways?"

"It's for the BC," Nathan said as the two of them walked back into the green house.

"Baja Cartel?" Tony asked, "I thought you weren't gonna join up with them."

"We weren't," Jake said, "and we're not really. This is just… something we gotta do."

Soon all the workers were moving all the packed up product to the back of the van and Nathan stood by and watched as 300 pounds of weed was placed in the back of the van. It was the whole business and they were giving it all away. But if that's what he needed to do to get me back, he was willing to do it.

The doors shut, breaking Nathan out of his thoughts and he looked back towards Tony and Jake. "So," Tony said, "who am I working for now then? Them or you?"

"I'll let you know when we know," Nathan said before walking around to the passenger side of the van.

Jake shook Tony's hand before walking towards the driver's side.

"Oh Jake," Tony said and Jake turned to look at him again, "tell Haley I said hey. We miss having her around here."

Jake hung his head down for a few seconds before looking back. "I'll tell her," he said with a forced smile before getting inside the van.

As soon as the door shut he started up the engine and sped off away from the green house. They were down to an hour and half and he couldn't waste any time. Pulling onto the highway he never took his foot off the gas and Nathan watched as the speedometer continued to go up and up.

They raced past exits waiting until the sign for the Chula Vista appeared. Eventually they saw the 4 mile marker appear and Nathan once again looked to see how fast they were going. They were now almost at 95 miles an hour and Nathan shook his head. "Slow down. There's gonna be cops out."

"I can't slow down," Jake said, "if we're even a little late…"

"We won't be. But we're fucked if a cop pulls us over."

Nathan wished he hadn't said that because as soon as he finished his sentence he looked up into the rear view mirror and saw the reflection of a black and white police car behind them.

"Fuck," Jake said and he could feel his breathing increase and his palms sweat as he placed his foot on the brake. "Nate… there's 300 pounds of weed in the back."

"I know," Nathan said continuing to watch the cop, "that's why you gotta stay cooler than you've ever been. Just breathe and drive."

"If he lights up I can't out drive him."

"You won't have to," Nathan said as he reached into the back of the van and retrieved a 9 millimeter hand gun. Jake turned and looked at him for a few seconds and watched as he began to load it.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Jake asked, "you can't kill a cop!"

"I won't kill him," Nathan replied with a causal shrug, "I'll just… detain him."

Jake stared up at the street signs and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Chula Vista come into site. He started to pull to the right towards the exit and watched as the cop raced past their van and farther down the highway before he began to flash his lights at another speeding car.

"Thank God," Jake sighed while pulling out onto the street. His heart was still pounding in his chest and he tried to get ahold of his breathing. Even while Nathan read the address out loud to him he could barely focus on his words. The only thing he could think of was me. No matter what happened, I knew they would never stop looking for me.

"It's right here," Nathan said, "on the left."

Jake was broken out of his thoughts and he took a sharp left turn. The building was run down, the sign in the front was covered in graffiti. The large neon parrot on the top of the building had to have burned out months ago and no one had bothered to fix it. Jake pulled the van around to the back before checking the clock. They had exactly one minute to midnight.

"They're not here," Jake said, staring intently out the window.

"They'll be here," Nathan replied. His eyes were fixed on the gun in his lap. He had it ready to go, but he wasn't exactly sure what he would do. If they messed anything up, I was done for, and he knew that.

Two minutes later a black van pulled up next to them and Jake and Nathan watched as the same man they had met at the hotel came out from the driver's side. Just seconds later he was followed by a younger man, maybe our age who shared the same features. It was clear that he was his son.

"Gentlemen," the man said with a smile on his face, "glad to see you came."

"Of course we did," Jake replied, "now where's Haley?"

The man cleared his throat and motioned to the younger man. "Felix," he said, "check the back make sure it's all there."

Nathan watched as the younger man went around to the back of the van. He popped the lift gate open before beginning to count the stacks of weed. After a few minutes he walked around to where they were all standing and waiting. He walked up to the older man and whispered something into his ear.

The older man smiled, "that's more than we were expecting."

He pulled out a pair of keys from his pocket before tossing them towards Nathan. Jake quickly pulled out his keys before walking over to the man and handing them to him. "Please," Jake said, making sure to look into his eyes. "Tell us where Haley is."

"Wait by the phone," the man replied, "you'll get a call."

"No," Nathan said, "we've done everything you've wanted us to do. We handed over everything we have. Where is she?"

"He said you'll get a call," Felix replied, "so you'll get a call."

The two of them walked back to the van that had originally been driven by Jake and Nathan and got in before starting it. Suddenly they were gone and Nathan and Jake were left standing there feeling like they'd lost even more. They're whole company was now in their possession, but more than that, they still weren't any closer to finding me.

* * *

_I stood against the door frame in Nathan's living room. The sounds of people laughing and cheering filled my senses. Music thudded through the house while everyone celebrated the win of tonight's basketball game. My eyes were currently taking in the view of Nathan taking shots off one of the girls on my team. I couldn't help but roll my eyes as I watched him be high fived and praised once he finished._

_He stood up and his eyes met mine from across the room. "You're next Hales!" he yelled with a smile on his face._

"_Yeah," I replied, "you wish."_

_He winked at me before going back to a conversation with some guys from the team. I smiled and shook my head before turning around and heading back in the direction of the kitchen. I grabbed a red plastic cup and filled it with Rum and Coke before taking a sip and swallowing it down. I'd only been at the party for about 15 minutes and from the looks of Nathan I had some drinking to catch up on._

"_Hey Haley," I heard and turned around before facing Lucas Scott. His blonde hair was slightly ruffled and he was dressed in a light blue button up and a pair of jeans. "I figured you'd be here."_

"_Yeah," I replied, "I'm kinda surprised to see you here though."_

_Nathan and Lucas weren't known for having the best relationship. They got along on the court for the sake of the game but once it was over, so was their relationship. Nathan would never admit it but I knew he wished things were better between them. When we were kids Nathan used to talk about how he always wished he had a brother. When he learned about Lucas they were both teased and ridiculed by other kids and it did nothing but push them farther apart._

"_It's a good surprise though," I put in._

_Lucas smiled. "Lindsey wanted to come she thought it might be good for me to try and bond with the team more."_

"_Well I'm glad you came."_

_I felt an arm wrap around me and turned to see Jake now standing next to me. "Hey Luke," he said with a smile. "I'm glad you came."_

"_Thanks man," Lucas replied. "I think I'm gonna go try and find Lindsey. I'll see you around."_

_We smiled at him before he retreated back into the crowd. "I'm surprised he came," Jake said before taking a drink of whatever he'd filled his cup with. "This isn't really his scene."_

_When Lucas joined the team Jake was one of the few guys to befriend him. It had pissed Nathan off more than anything at first. He hated that Jake was so nice to him, but he knew it wasn't because he was trying to hurt him. Jake was nice to everyone and he hated to see anyone put down. He was part of the reason that Nathan laid off him._

"_Maybe he and Nathan will talk," I said even though I knew the chance of that happening were slim._

"_Yeah," Jake said with a laugh, "we'll see about that."_

"_I know it's not likely," I replied, "I just wish they could try to get to know each other. You know that Nathan's always wanted a brother. And he has one but he won't get close to him."_

"_Nathan does have a brother," Jake agreed, "and it's me."_

"_I know," I replied. They were as close as brothers and maybe that was all the brother that Nathan needed. But I still wished that he and Lucas could get closer. It wasn't fair that they hated each other because of the choices that Dan made years ago._

"_You look great by the way," Jake said while looking at me. I could feel the blush spreading in my cheeks and I twisted my ring around my finger, nervously. I looked down at myself and inspected the black high-wasted skirt I wore and the dark blue silk camisole. Suddenly now that Jake had made that comment I felt a little self-conscious. Now that Jake had commented on the way that I looked I felt like I had to make sure that I looked great all night._

"_Thanks," I replied, finally. "You look handsome as always."_

"_Aren't you sweet," he said with a smile._

_I had known for a while that Jake was in love with me. I could see it in his eyes every time he looked at me. Nathan was the one who told me and ever since then it was hard to not see it. I knew there were many times that Jake had almost told me how he felt and I wasn't sure what I would say if he did._

_I'd never been in love with anyone and there were times when I thought maybe Jake was the perfect guy for me. He treated me the way any girl would want to be treated and I really did love him. He'd been my best friend forever and I knew without a doubt that I could count on him for anything. If I was with Jake I knew I would be happy. But still I just wasn't sure that I could ever be in love with Jake._

"_Jake!" _

_I suddenly heard Nathan's voice and both Jake and I turned out attention towards him. "You've got shots waiting for you!"_

_Jake laughed and looked back at me. "Duty calls."_

"_Go," I said with a smile and watched as Jake walked into the living room towards Nathan. I took another sip of my drink before walking out of the kitchen. I passed the boys taking shots before making my way down the hallway. _

_I'd been in this house thousands of times but still I always stopped in the hallway to look at the framed pictures. There were pictures of Nathan playing basketball throughout the years, all the way from the age of 5 until now. I smiled when I looked at a school picture of him from kindergarten. He wore a red and black sweater and had gaps between his teeth. I remembered that day as the day I met him._

_After a few more minutes I jumped when I felt a pair of hands on my hips. I turned around quickly and was met with my favorite pair of blue eyes. "You scared me!"_

_Nathan laughed and pulled me closer to him. "I feel like I've barely seen you since you've gotten here."_

_I could tell by the sound of his voice he was past the point of buzzed. "That's because you've been too busy licking tequila off cheerleaders."_

"_You're a cheerleader," he replied, "why don't you let me lick some stuff off you?"_

_I laughed again, "I bet you'd like that."_

"_I would," he said with a drunken smile, "I think you might, too."_

_I smiled, "you're drunk Nathan. You only hit on me when you're drunk. In fact you'll be embarrassed when I tell you about this tomorrow."_

_He shook his head, "no way. Now drink up and get drunk so you think it's just as good an idea as I do."_

_I smiled at him before bringing my cup up to my lips and drinking down the rest of the rum and coke. "Better?" I asked._

"_Much."_

_His hands were still placed on my hips and he backed me up against the wall. Suddenly the way his eyes were on me made my heart race. Nathan had drunkenly hit on me before but there was something different about the look in his eyes now. His eyes were intense on me and I felt like he might kiss me._

"_You know how beautiful you are?" Nathan asked. "Sometimes I just stare at you in class because you're too beautiful to look away from."_

"_Nathan-"_

"_There you guys are."_

_Nathan and I both looked in the direction of the familiar voice. Jake stood a few feet away with his drink in his hand and hurt look across his face. I couldn't imagine what this looked like to him._

"_Hey man," Nathan said and took a step back from me._

"_We got a game of Never Have I Ever going on in the living room. You guys wanna play?"_

"_Definitely," I said and moved away from the wall before grabbing Nathan by the arm. When I reached Jake I linked my arm through his. Right now I just wanted things to go back to normal between us. I just had to pretend like we were all normal._

Normal was something I ached for now. Sitting in this dark room I just wanted to scream at the top of my lungs. Maybe that could let out some of the frustration I'd built up. I wouldn't be able to smoke and I couldn't go to the beach and worst of all I wasn't going to see Nathan or Jake. That was what I wanted more than anything. They always made every problem better and now I couldn't even talk to them.

I stared at the TV watching a re-run of The Bachelor with Peyton. She'd been with me most of the day only leaving to get us a box of pizza. I knew she meant well by getting me food but greasy pizza was the last thing I wanted. "Is there anything else I could eat?"

Peyton threw her crust into the box and shook her head. "This is what I got."

"I know," I replied and ran my hand through my hair, "I can't eat gluten. It's gonna make me sick."

"Then don't eat."

I let out a frustrated yell and knocked the box of pizza on the floor. I'm sure my temper tantrum wouldn't help my situation, but I couldn't hold myself back. I had no shred of self-control left in me.

Peyton laughed a little. "Wow."

"I'm sorry," I said. Now I could feel tears coming down my cheeks and I quickly wiped them away. The last thing I wanted was for anyone to see me crying. "I'm sorry," I apologized again.

Peyton reached her hand out towards me and I felt her touch my arm. I jumped slightly at the contact before looking up at her. "I'll try and get you something else to eat."

She smiled at me slightly before standing up and walking out the door. It was still dark out even though I felt like it had to have been a new day. I must have been here that long by now. I wasn't even sure how many days I'd been here. Too many.

I continued to sit on the couch and wait for Peyton to come back. Twenty minutes later the door opened, but my heart sank when I watched Ian walk back in. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a dirty white button down and his blonde hair was disheveled. I hated being alone with him, he truly scared me.

"Pizza wasn't good enough for you?" he asked with a tone that suggested irritation.

"I can't eat gluten."

Ian nodded and sat down on the table in front of me. I tried to move as far back from him as I could, but as usual I could never get that far from him. I watched him lean forward and place his hand on my knee and when I tried to move away from him he squeezed it tighter. "I don't know why you're so scared of me."

"You don't?" I asked, "couldn't have anything to do with the fact that you kidnapped me and you're holding me here."

Ian laughed, "you could have a point there." He moved his hand off my knee and crossed his arms over his chest. "As long as you don't give me any trouble you've got nothing to worry about."

"I wanna go home."

"To your boyfriends?"

I looked up at him with anger in my eyes. I didn't even want to hear him talk about Jake and Nathan. I wished they had nothing to do with this because if they didn't, then I would know they weren't in any trouble.

"Which one is your boyfriend by the way?" he asked, "I couldn't really tell."

"They're gonna find me," I said, "I promise you that."

Ian shook his head, "we'll see."

He stood up and was headed towards the door before I spoke up again to stop him. "Do you think maybe I could email my mom?" I asked. "I'm sure she's worried that she hasn't heard from me by now. I just want her to know that I'm ok."

"You expect me to let you get on a computer and tell your mom what's going on?"

"I won't tell her about this," I promised, "I wouldn't even know where to tell her that I am. I just want to talk to her."

"I'll see what I can do."

Soon Ian was gone again and I had nothing to do but wait. Wait for Peyton to come back, wait for to be able to contact someone. Wait for Nathan and Jake to find me. And I knew that they would. They would find me and they would take me back and whoever was doing this would pay for it. But waiting for all this to happen really sucked.

**I'm sorry this chapter is so short but I really wanna know what you guys think. I'll make the next chapter longer and I swear you won't have to wait too long.**


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